Machine for folding wrappers around rectangular tablets.



v T rim ssmaag. I PATENTED JULY 15, 1997.

' I RGROVER.

MACHINE FOR FOLDING WRAPPERS AROUND RECTANGULAR TABLETS.

APPLIGATION FILED APB-n20, 1907.

5 SHEETBSHEET 1.

Fig. 1

Fig.

Fig.4 1

PATENTED JULY 16, 1907.

. F. GROVER. MACHINE FOR FOLDING WRAPPERS AROUND RECTANGULAR TABLETS.

APPLIOATION FILED APE,,20,1907. v

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' PATENTED JULY 16, m

r. GROVER. I MACHINE FOR FOLDING WRAPVPERSAAROUND RECTANGULAR TABLETS.

AYPLIOATiON FILED APB M03907.

.5 SHEETS-SHEET 3- No. 860,539. PATENTED JULY 16, 1907. F. GROVER.

MACHINE FOR FOLDING WRAPPERS AROUND RECTANGULAR TABLETS.

A PPLIOATION FILED APB.'20.1907.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

IPATBNTED JULY 16, 1907.

notsemse P. VGROVER, MACHINE FOR FOLDING WRAPPERS AROUNDREGTANGYUIIAR TABLETS.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 20. 1907.

6 $HEETS'8KEET 6.

Fig. '15

UNITED, STATES FREDERICK GROVElt,

OF LEEDS, ENGLAND, ASSlGNOR TO THE FORGROVE COMPANY LIMITED, Ol LEEDS, ENGLAND.

PATENT ()FFICE.

MACHINERY MACHINE FOR FOLDING WRAPPERS AROUND RECTANGULAR TABLETS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 16, 1907.

Application filed April 20,1907. Serial No. 369,209.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it-known that I, Inunnrucx Gnovnn, a subject;

. of King of Great Britain, residing at Leeds, in the county of York, England, have invented certain'new and'nseful Improvements in Machines for Folding Wrappers Around Rectangular 'lahlets, and of which the following is a specification. v I have heretofore described a machine for folding a wrapper around rectangular tablets, such for instance as cakes of chocolate, and gunnning one edge of the wrapper to secure it in position, all effected automatic- .ally in the same machine.- In this known machine,

the wrapper, composed say of paper, was exactly equal i in width to the width'of the tablets, and therefore did .not project over the ends; in such a machine a strip of the wrapping material of the correct width was laid upon agsloping table, which latter was slid forwards and sodelivered one end of the wrapper in between two rollers, by the motion of which a proper length of the wrapper was inserted into a pocket and then cut off by a knife; and then the tablet to be wrapped was moved,

t by a pusher throng-ha slot in the pocket in a plane at i right angles to the plane of the wrapper. carrying thewrapper with it, was then'received by a The tablet,

gripper device, by which the wrapper was folded around the under surface of the tablet, one edge, and part of the upper surface; then.the gripper was carried downwards with-its forward edge adjacent to a curved plate, so folding the projecting portion of the wrapper upwards and covering the opposite edge of the tablet;

then the tablet was ejected from the gripper, between a sloping surface and a brush located at a distance above the said sloping surface, by which the upstanding end of thewrapperwasfolded oyer the tablet, it having ilo previously been gurnmed. the wrapper was caused to inclose the tablet excep ing the ends thereof,

7 I have also heretofore described a machine, o} the type 'above referred to but of a modified construction, for

folding a wrapper around reclangular tablets automatic ally. In this known machine, the tablet was covered on-its sides and under and upper surfaces and also at its ends;v the wrapper, say composed of metal foil, was

I made greater in width than the width of the tablet, and

mechanism was provided by which the projecting edges of the'wrapper were folded upon the ends of the tal let.- In such a machine, the gripper was made with sidetongues by which the first end fold of the wrapper.

was effected simultaneously with the wrapper and the 1 tablet together being forced into the gripper'devic'e,

side plates were provided lathe-sloping delivery plate by which the second fold was made in the ends of the wrapper, and slotted guides were formed in the-sides of tho/sloping delivery plate by which the .upper and lower portions of the wrapper at the. ends were folded over,

one upon another. Thus the wrapper was caused to just inclose the tablet.

Now the object of this present invention is toso alter and add to this class of machine that'the tablet may.

be not merely inclosed, but also that it shall be more effectually covered at its ends and additionally covered on its upper surface, and with this object I provide a wrapper, say composed of paper, which is of a width i ward belowthe curved plate, and then I provide side tongues on the gripper and also on the forward part of the sloping delivery plate by which the rear and forward end folds of the wrapper are made upon the tablet on the latter bein'g'ejected front the gripper between the sloping surface and the brush, and upstanding and To effect this, I now makethe inwardly turned blades are provided on the sloping de- 4 livery plate beyond the side tongues by which the,

folded ends of the wrapper are turned upward against the ends of the tablet and then over, one upon another,

upon the upper surface of the tablet. Thus the tablet is effectually and securely inclosed in the wrapper.

1n the drawings at Figures 1 to 9 there are illustrated by perspective views the several stages in the wrapping of a tablet effected by the improved. machine hereinafter described. At Fig. l the tablet 1 is shown in the position it occupies when about to be forced by the pusher through the slot in the pocket aforesaid to I carry with it the wrapper 2 into the gripper, it being observed that the wrapper is of a width over twice that of the-tablet. and tablet when in the embrace of the gripper, the wrapper having been folded partly over the upper face and completely over the underface of the tablet. Fig. 3

shows the wrapper in the position it assumes when being carried by the gripper over theface of'the curved plate, the free end of tliewrapper being thus folded up against the forward edge of the tablet while the remainder of the wrapper is upstanding. Fig. 4shows the position of the wrapper on it having been carried down by the gripper on to the upstanding side tongues of the sloping delivery plate, the projecting under portions of the wrapper being thus folded up against the 'ends of the tablet. Fig. 5 shows the wrapper in the'position it assumes at the commencement of the ejection of the tabletfrom the gripper onto the sloping surface, the side tongues on the gripper having tucked in the rear end folds 3 of the wrapper against the end Fig. 2 shows the position of the wrapper 1 surfa'ires of the tablet. At 6 the wrapper is shown v j the outstanding end flaps ha'vingbeen turned upwards as having been ejected from the gripper onto the sloping surface, passing against the side tongues on the sloping ,delivery plate and between the sloping surface and the brush.by which the upstanding portion-of the Wrapper is swept down on to the upper surface of the 7 tablet and the forward end folds 4 of thewrapper made against, the end surfaces of the tablet. A-t'Fig. 7 thewrapper is shown in the position it occupies after enteringbetweenthe side blades of the delivery channel,

' 1 against l:i;-- ends of the tablet. At Fig. 8 one of the upstanding. end flaps is shown as having been turned down upon the upper surface of the tablet, and at Fig. 9 the opposite upstanding end flap is shown as having been turned down upon the upper surface of the tablet 7 over the first end flap.- To. produce this novel result in inclo'sing tablets in paper wrappers,. the machine isconstructed and operates as willinow .be described with reference to the accompanying drawings of the mechanism, whereon, Fig. 10 is a vertical: cross section .of the machine. Fig. 11 is a plan view, aportionof the table for carrying the wrapping material being broken away. Fig. 12 is an elevation showing 'the' gripper and the entrance end of the delivery channel detached from the machine and drawn to a larger scale,

illustrating also by dotted lines the gripper in the down position with the tablet uponf theupstanding side tonguesofthe delivery.-plate;-and Fig. 13 is a plan view of the said gripper and delivery platefco rrespending to the viewshown at Fig. 12'. 'Figs. 14 and and 15 are respectively a sectional elevation and a plan showing the delivery channelinto which the, tablets are forced and in which the end foldsof the wrapper are completed;

Referring to the drawings of this machine-and particularly to Figs. 10and 11.the table 5"is intended to receive a length of wrappingmaterial, paper -for instance, frorna roll fL-the-iree end of which paper is passed over the surface of the table 5 between side .guides 7, by which latter it is maintained in a straight line, and then forward between-two rollers 8, -9, in contact. lO'is the' r'nain shaft which 'is carried in bearings in-theframeworkof the machine, said shaft being driven direct by a belt pulley .11 (Fig. 11-), and the rollers 8, '9 are intermittently driven fromthe shaft 10 through the medium of a pawl and ratchet mechanism 12 and spur gearing 13, 14 (Fig. 11), s0

operating the rollers to feed the paper through the necessary distance; and thus "on the strip of paper being introduced between the rollers 8, 9 the intermittent motion causes the strip to be advanced a rogu lation distanceinto a vertical pool (ch15. The walls of the pocket 15 are formed with a through slot forthe by an endless band and pulley arrangeme t from the main shaft 10, to carry the tablets u to a' stop 23 (Fig. lll. At lhc level of the upper so in" ofthe table 21 there is a slot through the walls of the pr. :et

15, through which the tablet, resting against the stop 23, is to be forced, this being effected by a pusher- 24 operated by a lever 25 actuated by a connecting rod 26 and a lever 27, rocking about a shaft 28, and actuated by a cam-' on the main shaft 10. Behind the in dotted lines at Fig.12, while at another time itrests directly opposite the delivery channel to allow the tablet to be ejected therefrom into the said channel. 1

The: gripper device is specially illustrated at Figs. 12 and 13, and consists of a bottonr plate 31, carried by the lever 29, having an upstanding flange 32 at its rear end, to which, at 33, is pivoted an upper plate 34, while the flange 32 is fornied with a bearing to receive a sliding spring rod 35 whose forwardend is fixed to an ejector bar 36, and thisejector'bar isca'pable of be ing m oved forwardly over the bottom plate, so as to eject, when necessary,. the tablet which has'beenr forced between the bottom and upper plates 31,134.

Beyond this, in order to carry out the present inven tion, the gripper has two projecting side tongues 37 which are carried by the ejector bar 36, these tongues 37 being shown especiallywt Fig. 12 in full lines'and at Fig. 13 in dotted lines, the office of these tongues, as hereinafter more fully explained, being to give the rear end folds to the paper as shown at 3, Fig- 5.

It should now be understood that when the strip of paper hasbeen advanced into the pocketf15 by the rollers8 9,'and has been cut off just below the said rollers by the knife 16, the said tablet is forced through its slotat the level of the table 21 by the pusher 24, and. i

the tablet in its motion carries with it the upper part of the wrapper (of paper) into and between the bottom and upper plates 31, 34 of the gripper, so folding the wrapper partly over. the upper face and completely. under the lower face of the tablet as well as around the forward edge of same, the tablet stopping short of the side tongues 37 on the ejector bar 36, thus placing the tablet and wrapper in the relative positions shown at Fig. 2 ofthe drawings, the unfolded part of the wrapper (Fig. 2) being still within the pocket 15. The gripper is then moved, by the mechanism previously de scribed, from its position in full lines (Fig. 12) to lowest position in dotted lines, the rearward edges of the bottomv andupper plates of the gripperpassing over the stationary curved surface plate 38 carried by the framework of the machine, and by this actionthe unfolded end of the wrapper (Fig. "2) is drawn out of the pocket 15 and folded over the rearward edge of the tablet,- being brought into the position shown at Figi-fl of the drawings: while the gripper'on coming to its lowest p'osition ,(sl io.wn by the dotted: lines at carries the.projecting underiportions of the onto upstanding side tongues 39 elnsticitllyh. by spring-studs 40 to a bracket 4.1. supporting the ing delivery plate 42, by which the saidprojectingunder portions of the wrapper are folded up against the ends of the tablet as shown at Fig. 4. -The gripper, through the medium of it? :Qun mechanism, now rises x slope slightly so as to bring the tablet directly opposite the opening between the upper surface of the deli-very plate-42 and the brush .43 located immediately over same, and while in this position is subjected to the action of an ejector lever 44 (Fig. 12) fulcrumed on the framework at 45 and operated by a link iii, a lever 47 rocking on-the shaft 28', and operated at its free end by a cam on the main shaft 10.

The upper end of the ejector lever 44 is bifurcated,

and when it receives a rearward motion, its forked ends strike the ends of the ejector bar 36, forcing the same rearwardly, causing the rod 35 to slide in its hearing and compressing the spring on the said rod, which action causes the projecting side tongues 37 of the ejector bar 36 to engage the rear projecting end portions of the wrapperand form the rear end folds 3 (Fig. 5), and also to carry the tablet forward with the forward projecting end portions of the wrappcr'against projecting side tongues 48elastically attached by spring-studs 49 to I i the sides of the delivery plate 42, by which side tongues 48 the forward end folds 4 of the wrapper (Fig. 6) are produced. The rearward travel of the bar 36 also fo'rces out the tablet into the passage between the delivery plate 42 and the brush 43, by which brush the upstanding flap (Fig. 5) is folded over onto the upper surface of the tablet as shown at Fig. (i, in which passage the folding operations are completed. The bottdm plate 42 of this channel as shown at Figs. 10 to 15 is carried by the bracket ll from the stationary framework, and to the sides of the plate 42, near the side tongues 48, are attached upstanding and inwardly turned blades 50, 51. As the tablet passes down the ping of the tablet; the tablet is advanced down the along the channel, by means of a tappet lever 53 pivoted at 54 to a stationary bracket 55, said lever 54 being operated at the required times by a link 56, a connecting rod 57 pivoted to the lower end of a lever 58 rocking on the shaft 28, and operated at its-free end by a cam on the main shaft 10. In this way the completely wrapped tablets are built up, under each other in the chute 52 (see Fig. 15), and thus the-wrappers are completely pressed upon their tablets, while the said chute is provided with spring clips 59 which hold up the tablets as they are-passed upward by the tappet lever 53.

What I' claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is p '1. In a. machine for folding-fa wrapper around rectanrollers, a knife adapted to sever or sub-divide the strip, a traveling belt adapted to feed forward the tablets, a stop agninst which the ih'st tablets resis, a slot formed in the pocket, :1 pusher adapted to carry the delivered tablet ihrouch the slot in the pocket in :tplnne at rightunules to the plane of the wrapper, 2i gripper device adapted to rcceive the tablet and its wrapper to fold the wrapper around the nndersurfuce one edge and part of the upper surface of the tablet and then curry the partly wrapped tubict downwards, :1 stationary curved pinto against which the l'orwnrd edge of the gripper engages to turn upwards the projcctinq portion of the wrapper against the opposite edge of the tablet, an ejector bar on the gripper device,.n sloping delivery plate onto which the pnl'tly wrapped tablet is passed, and :1 brush over the delivery plate to turn the upstanding portion of the wrapper down on to the tablet; oflu pair of upstanding side tongues located on the 'forwgnd end, of the sloping delivery plate to fold up the projectinif'uiuler portions of the wrapper against the ends of the tablet, means for forming the rear undfbrward end folds of the wrapper upon the tablet, means for turning the projecting folded ends of the wrapper upward against the ends of the tablet and then over upon the upper surface of the tablet, and means for completely pressing the wrapper upon the tablet, substantially as set forth. 4

2. in a machine for folding a wrapper around rectangular tablets, the combinationfwith n pair of feed rollers adapted to feed forward a length or strip oin rapping mutt-rial, a pocket adapted to receive the strip from the rollers. :1 knife udnptcd to sever or sub-divide the strip, a traveling belt adapted to feed forward the tablets, a stop aguiust which the lirst tablet rests, a slot formed in the pocket, :1 pusher adapted to carry the delivered tablet through the slot in the pocket in a plane at right angles to the plane of the wrapper, a grlppci"device adapted to receive the tablet and its wrapper to fold the wrapper around the under-surface one edge and part of the upper surface of the tablet and then carry the partly wrapped tablet downwards, n stationary curved plate against which the forward edge of-the gripper engages to turn upwards the projecting portion of the wrapper against the opposite edge of the tablet, :in ejector bar on the gripper device, a sloping delivery plate onto which tablet is passed, and a brush over the delivery plate to turn the upstanding portion of the wrapper down on to the tablet; of a pair of upstanding side tongues located on the forward end oi the sloping delivery pints to-foid up the projectim, under portions oi the wrapper against the ends of the tablet on the gripper device having; led the partly wrapped tablet downward below llll'. curved plate, a pair of side tongues located on the ejector bur oi the gripper device arid a pair of side tongues located on the forward part of the sloping delivery plate to fold or tuck in the rear and forward projecting ends respectively of the wrapper upon the tablet on the latter being ejected from the gripper device onto the sloping delivery plute, menus for turning the projecting 't'olded ends of the wrapper upward against the ends of the tablet 'and then over upon the upper surface 01. the tablet, and means for completely pressing the wrapper upon the tablet, substantially as described.

5;. inn machine for folding a wrapper nroundrectan gulnr tablets, the combination with a pziir of feed rollers adapted to feed forward at length or strip of wrapping material, a. pocket adapted to receive the strip from the rollers, u knife adapted to sever or sub-divide the strip, a. traveling bclt adapted to feed forward the tablets, a stop uyruinst which the first tribletr ts, :1 slot formed in the pocket. a pusher adapted to curry the delivered tablet I through the slot in the pocket in a plane at right angles the partly wrapped to the plane of the wrapper, a gripper device adapted to receive the tablet and its wrapper to fold the wrapper around they undolwurinec one edge and part of the upper surface oi the tablet and then carry the partly wrapped tablct downwards, a stutionriry curved plate against which wrapped tablet is passed, and a brush over the delivery I- which the forward edge of the gripper engages to turn plate toturn the upstanding portion of the wrapper down on to the tablet; of a pair of upstanding side tongues located on the forward end of the sloping delivery plate to fold up the projectingunder portions of the wrapper against the ends of the tablet on the gripper device having carricd the partly wrapped tablet downward below the curved plate, a pair of side tongues located on the ejector bar of the gripper device and a pair of side tongues located onthe forward part of the sloping delivery plate to fold 01' tuck in the rear and forward projecting ends respectively of the wrapper upon the tablet on the latter being ejected from the gripper. device onto the sloping delivery'plate, a pair of upstanding and inwardly .turned blades on the sloping delivery plate to turn the rollers, a knife adapted to sever or sub-divide the strip,

a traveling belt adapted to feed forward the tablets, a stop against which the first tablet rests, a slot formed in the pocket, :1 pusher adapted to carry, the delivered tablet througirthe slot in the pocket in'a plane at right angles to the plane of the wrapper,- a gripper device adapted to receive the tablet and its wrapper to fold the wrapper around the undersurface one'edge. and part of the upper surface of the tablet and then carry the partlywrapped tablet (lown\val'ds, a stationary curved plate against upwards the projecting portion otthe wrapper against the opposite edge of the tablet, an ejector bar on the gripper device, a sloping delivery plate onto which the partly wrapped tablet is passed, and a brush over the delivery plate to turn the upstanding portion of the wrapper down on to the tablet; of a pair of'upstanding side tongues projecting from the'torward end of the sloping delivery plate to fold up the projecting under portions of the wrapper against the ends-of the tablet on the gripper device having carried the partly wrapped tablet downward below the curved plate, a pair of side tongues located on the ejector bar of the gripper device and a pair of side tongues located on the forward part of the sloping delivery plate to fold or tuck in the rear and forward projecting ends respectively ofthe wrapper upon the tab let on the latter being ejected from the gripper device onto the sloping delivery plate, a pair of upstanding and inwardly turned blades on the sloping delivery plate to turn the projecting folded ends of the wrapper upwards upon the ends of the tablet and subsequently to turn the upstanding folded ends of the wrapper over upon the upper surface of the tablet, and a stationary chute located at the delivery end of the sloping plate up which the wrapped tablets are passed ,to completely press the wrappers upon the tablets, substantially as described.

FREDERICK GROVER.

Witnesses .Tomv Jovvmr, VANCE E. Gannowar. 

